Spire (NYSE:SR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wells Fargo & Company

Spire (NYSE:SR) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spire from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Spire in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Spire in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $86.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.59. Spire has a 12 month low of $69.94 and a 12 month high of $95.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.56.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. Spire’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Spire will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.81 per share, for a total transaction of $171,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,670. The trade was a 40.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spire

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Spire by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in Spire by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its stake in Spire by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Spire by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC increased its stake in Spire by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Spire

Spire Inc (NYSE: SR), formerly known as The Laclede Group, is a regulated natural gas distribution company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its three operating divisions—Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire Mississippi—the company delivers natural gas to more than 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Spire’s service territory spans key markets in the central and southern United States, including metropolitan St. Louis, central Alabama and central Mississippi.

Founded in 1857 as the Laclede Gas Light Company, the business has grown through strategic acquisitions, notably Alabama Gas Corporation in 2013 and Mississippi Gas in 2016.